LYNCHBURG, Va. — A year removed from missing out on a 10th championship by just one goal, the University of Lynchburg spoiled Randolph-Macon College’s first ODAC men’s lacrosse title game appearance with a stellar defensive effort in the second half on the way to a 13-8 triumph in the conference championship on Saturday at Shellenberger Field.
The victory awards the nationally 15th-ranked Hornets the league’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship bracket. The field of 38 teams will be revealed via selection show on NCAA.com on Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. ET. Lynchburg is one of 27 teams to earn an automatic bid with one spot reserved for Pool B schools (independent or conference’s with no AQ). The remaining 10 teams will be selected at-large by the Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship Committee.
Saturday’s championship tilt showcased a little bit of everything for the large crowd in the Hill City. The first half featured strong offensive bursts with sometimes non-existent defense, but the second half highlighted the goal-stopping prowess of both squads with timely attacks turning over the scoreboard.
The first period belonged to Lynchburg (14-5). The Hornets scored first just 56-seconds from the opening face-off, but Randolph-Macon (16-5) seemingly did much for any first-time championship game nerves by leveling the score at the 13:09 mark. Lynchburg, however, turned the tides and scored four unanswered goals in the span of 3:25 seconds to take a 5-1 lead with 9:05 still on the first quarter clock.
The latter portion of the opening frame seemed to feature a momentum shift with Randolph-Macon getting on the board a second time and noticeably setting in on defense despite the Hornets scoring once more to take a 6-2 lead after 15 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets completely flipped the script in the second stanza, scoring three times before four minutes ticked away and adding a fourth goal at the 6:39 mark to tie the game at 6-all.
RMC’s effort to get back into the game notwithstanding, Lynchburg left a lasting impression with two more goals before the break, including a gut-punch tally by Dylan Wolfe with just 0:08 on the Shellenberger Field video board.
Those two tallies kicked off a five goal run for Lynchburg. It took a long time for the Hornets to register those marks, scoring at 13:18 and 9:24 of the third period and 13:12 of the fourth quarter. More importantly, the Hornets defense was outstanding in keeping Randolph-Macon off the board for the entirety of the third frame.
The Yellow Jackets’ goalless drought lasted 24:36 of game time before Avery Tankersley cut Lynchburg’s lead to 11-7 with 12:13 to play. The Hornets surrounded another Tankersley goal with two of their own to close out their third ODAC title in the last four seasons.
Lynchburg’s Riley Hastings led all players with six points on five goals and one assist. Wolfe finished with three tallies and one helper, while Jake Rust scored twice. Steve Ullrichs, Alex Blanchard, and Luke Meadows led the Hornets defense with two caused turnovers each. Ullrichs added a half-dozen ground balls while face-off man Michael Kraux with 17-of-22 from the “X” with a game-best 12 ground balls. Goalkeeper Tyler Hadley made three saves after facing 22 total shots.
Tankersley led Randolph-Macon with five goals with Bubba Bowen, Logan Sinsebox, and Ryan Pritchard scoring once each. The face-off was RMC’s achille’s heel with three players combining to go 8-for-25 from the “x.” Mike Allen posted team highs of four ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Cooper Hauser picked up three loose balls and forced a pair of miscues. Goalkeeper Jack Twomey made 12 saves after being peppered with 47 total shots.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Roanoke: Jake Brader
- Roanoke: Weston Hammond
- Washington and Lee: Alex Brown
- Washignton and Lee: Tyler Spano
- Randolph-Macon: Mike Allen
- Randolph-Macon: Jack Smith
- Randolph-Macon: Avery Tankersley
- Lynchburg: Tyler Hadley
- Lynchburg: Riley Hastings
- Lynchburg: Henri Marindin
- Lynchburg: Dylan Wolfe